Prayer Request

Event Reviews & Photo Gallery

We had a fabulous time at the Ladies' Retreat on May 7th. Thank so much to Lynne Johnson and Vickie Ackerman for all of their hard work putting everything together. Also, a big thank you goes out to our guest speaker, Nancy Goff.

Vickie and Lynne prepared some fun games to start us off with. The first was we all had to pick one thing from our purse we could not live without. We had some interesting stories come out of that game. Then, they had a list of 20 items that could possibly be in our purses. The list was given, and if you had the item, you were to pull it out of your purse. Items were those such as a toothbrush, a toy, etc. Irene Lee was the winner with 13 out of 20 items. As you can imagine, she has a large purse and fits everything in it but the kitchen sink. Nancy Goff was a close second with 10 out of 20 items.

We were able to watch a wonderful video from the NOOMA series. NOOMA is a series of short films produced by Flannel promoting
spiritual perspectives on individual life experiences. The name NOOMA
comes from a phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma meaning 'wind,' 'spirit,' or 'breath.'

Personally, this video made me think a lot. It said in the video that only 8% of the world has cars. We may not see ourselves as rich because of where we live. However, 92% of the world would call us rich. We need to feel rich in love from Jesus Christ and our families. We need to also appreciate what we have instead of wishing we had what others have. We are rich in so many ways! Feel blessed, not jealous.

Jesus wants us to share our wealth, and not only monetarily. We need to share our gifts and talents. Everyone has some kind of gift or talent. I know you could bless someone else with it. Why do you think God gave us gifts? To bless others with them!

We enjoyed a wonderful lunch provided by Bonfatto's.

Our guest speaker, Pastor Nancy Goff, spoke about her one-month journey. She took a one-month sabbatical to reflect on what was going on in other places. She could have done anything with that time. She could have gone to Paris or Disney World, but she chose to use her time to help others. She packed up her van and set off to try to make a difference and help others, and found it helped her more than she could have ever imagined. She slept in her van most of the time, only having two small bags of clothes to live with for a whole month. She set out to live simply on her trip. She met a lot of great people and made some lifetime friends. She found that there is so much need out there. At one point, she felt extremely undeserving of what she had back home and thought she may never be able to return to her luxurious life after what she had witnessed.

She talked about writing a book about her experiences in the near future. When she does, buy the book, it will be worth the money.

She told wonderful stories that made us both laugh and cry. More than anything, it made us realize how very blessed we are. There are so many people out there that need help--our help. Make a difference in someone's life today. God rewards those who seek to help others in need.

We really did have a blessed time and I personally can't wait to do it again next year. Once again, BIG THANKS goes out to Vickie Ackerman and Lynne Johnson for taking the time to put it all together!

We had such a fabulous Easter Egg Hunt for the kids on April 23, 2011. Thanks to Connie Dornan and Sandy Houser for putting it all together. The weather was not the best, but that didn't stop us from have a great time! The kids left with candy, prizes, and smiles on their faces! Who could ask for more? Thanks be to God!

I am very happy to announce that I had my Zumba training on March 12th,
and am now officially a Zumba instructor! It was quite the day! I
sweat a whole lot, but it was fun! I have some pictures below.
I will be working on putting a class together. Once I have have a class
put together I will announce the date, place and time that the class
will begin.

We had such a wonderful "Souper Bowl Sunday" at church today and
collected lots of soup for the food bank! Please see picture slide
show...

We have a "Souper Bowl Sunday" at church on Super Bowl Sunday. Everyone brings a can or more of soup and/or donations to the food bank. Some of the church members wore Steeler attire to support our team. What a great service!!! Pastor Bob even wore a leather Steeler helmet. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of that.

We had such a wonderful first "Come As You Are" service last evening!
It was so relaxed with the lights turned down and candles lit. The
candles were even scented so we had a nice aroma to accompany it.

Pastor Bob was our speaker for the first service. To add to the
relaxed atmosphere, he sat in a chair comfortably in the front of the
church instead of at the pulpit. He had a wonderful message about
friends! He used an object lesson called, "I wish I was a friend like
that" which included a three strand rope. He gave a piece of rope to
all who attended. The rope symbolized Ecclesiastes 4:12, "And if one
prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is
not quickly broken." What a powerful message!

He also referenced the scripture Luke 10:30-37

30 In reply Jesus said: “A
man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by
robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away,
leaving him half dead.31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.34
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then
he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care
of him.35 The next day he took out two denarii[a]
and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I
return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Pastor Bob told this story that he heard about...

A friend of mine named Paul received a new car from his brother as a
pre-Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, when Paul came out of his
office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring
it.

"Is this your car, mister?" he asked.

Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas."

The boy looked astounded. "You mean your brother gave it to you, and it didn't cost you anything? Gosh, I wish...."

He
hesitated, and Paul knew what he was going to wish. He was going to
wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad said jarred Paul all
the way down to his heels.

"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."

Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively added, "Would you like a ride in my new car?"
"Oh, yes, I'd love that!"

After a short ride the urchin turned, and with his eyes aglow said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?"

Paul
smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to
show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But
Paul was wrong again.

"Will you stop right where those steps
are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while, Paul
heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his
little polio-crippled brother. He sat down on the bottom step, then
sort of squeezed up right against him and pointed to the car.

"There
she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to
him to for Christmas, and it didn't cost him a cent, and someday I'm
gonna give you one just like it; then you can see for yourself all the
pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell
you about."

Paul got out and lifted the little lad into the
front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside
him and the three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned what Jesus meant when He said, "It is more blessed to give...."

Pastor Bob talked about how Jesus is our friend. He wants to give
all that seek Him, the desires of their hearts. We can always count on
Him. We have a wonderful friend in God!

For this service we sing from dvd's played on a large television.
The dvd's includes the song, graphics, and the lyrics. We sang three
terrific songs!

"Come As You Are" from Pocket Full of Rocks (Our theme song that will be played every Saturday night service)

I Am A Friend Of God from the iWorship DVD

There Is None Like You from iWorship DVD

It was a fabulous service! I hope you will all join us for next weeks service!

Our Christmas Cantata on December 19th was a huge success. We had a
full house! The kids did there parts beautifully! The choir sang
flawlessly! Great Job everyone! A special thanks to Joe Houser for
putting it all together!